All individual API operations must be useful and follow consistent Internet, industry, and enterprise standards, providing a simple and relevant HTTP API operation that does one thing and does it well, making the value intuitive to API consumers who will be using each API operation.
Operations Must Be Useful and Consistent
Policies
Unique Identrifiers for API Operations
Requiring that all operational unique identifiers meets the policy standards.
Operation Summary
Requiring that all operational summaries meets the policy standards.
Description of API Operations
Requiring that all operational descriptions meets the policy standards.
Request Bodies
Requiring that all operational request bodies meets the policy standards.
Request Bodies Media Types
Requiring that all operational request body media types meets the policy standards.
Request Bodies Schema
Requiring that all operational request body schema meets the policy standards.
Parameters
Requiring that all operational parameters meets the policy standards.
Parameter In Query or Path
Requiring that all operational parameters in property meets the policy standards.
Parameter Names
Requiring that all operational parameters names meets the policy standards.
Parameter Descriptions
Requiring that all operational parameters descriptions meets the policy standards.
Parameter Types
Requiring that all operational parameters type property meets the policy standards.
Parameter Schema
Requiring that all operational parameters schema meets the policy standards.
Parameter Enumerators
Requiring that all operational parameters enums meets the policy standards.
Operation Tags
Requiring that all operational tags meets the policy standards.
Operation Security
Requiring that all operational security meets the policy standards.
Experiences
Access
Gaining the necessary access to effectively use an API is often more challenging than it appears. Intentional and unintentional barriers can create friction in discovering and onboarding with an AP...
Automation
Automating business operations is a primary driver for adopting and governing APIs, enabling organizations to achieve the scale, speed, and quality needed to remain competitive in global markets. A...
Communication
Consistent communication about the production and consumption of APIs is critical for effective enterprise governance. APIs are inherently difficult to visualize, making it essential to invest in m...
Consistency
Achieving consistency in the design, delivery, and maintenance of HTTP APIs across an enterprise is a significant challenge—one that often complicates API operations. Small differences, such as var...
Discovery
The average enterprise maintains approximately 0.5 APIs per employee, making it a constant challenge to track the growing inventory of HTTP APIs being produced and consumed. Enterprises often addre...
Onboarding
Transitioning from API discovery to integration as a consumer requires a well-defined and streamlined API onboarding process. Onboarding begins with discovery and relies heavily on clear documentat...
Quality
The quality of HTTP APIs powering an enterprise tends to decline as the number of ungoverned APIs grows across internal, partner, and public landscapes. Low-quality APIs lead to poor downstream exp...
Reliability
If an API isn’t reliable, consumers will eventually look for alternatives. Reliability starts with the platform and infrastructure where the API is deployed, but it also depends heavily on the pace...
Security
API security is a top priority for any enterprise, with even higher standards for externally available APIs. However, security doesn’t end with the APIs an enterprise produces—it also applies to co...
Self-Service
Self-service is the experience of a consumer being able to discover, access, and integrate an API without having to talk to a human. Portals, sign-up flows, documentation, and keys let developers g...
Simplicity
Simplicity is a hallmark of well-designed HTTP APIs, but achieving simplicity requires effort. The likelihood that a partner or third-party developer will abandon an API increases as cognitive load...
